Perry Bamonte, a guitarist and keyboard player in The Cure, the seminal post-punk band that brought a dark, Gothic sensibility to sparkly, upbeat hits such as Friday I’m in Love, has died. He was 65.
The Cure announced Bamonte’s death in a statement on its website Friday that said he had died after “a short illness at home over Christmas”.
Perry Bamonte of The Cure performs in 2023.Credit: Getty Images
Bamonte was a roadie and guitar tech for the Cure before he joined the band full-time in 1990. The Cure called him “quiet, intense, intuitive, constant and hugely creative,” and a “vital part of the Cure story”.
He played guitar, six-string bass and keyboards on the albums Wish (1992), Wild Mood Swings (1996), Bloodflowers (2000), Acoustic Hits (2001) and The Cure (2004). Wish included Friday I’m in Love, which spent 20 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1992 and peaked at No. 18 on August 8 of that year.
He performed in 400 shows over 14 years during his first stint with The Cure, playing behind Robert Smith, the gloomily romantic frontman, who cut an indelible image with his black clothing, tangly mop of hair and smeared lipstick.
After a time away from the band, Bamonte rejoined The Cure in 2022. He played another 90 shows that culminated with the band’s Show of a Lost Word performance in London on November 1, 2024, which was later released as a concert film.
Bamonte, right, with Robert Smith, left, and Simon Gallup, after The Cure was inducted into Hollywood’s Rockwalk in 2004.Credit: AP
He also had various acting roles in movies, including Judge Dredd, About Time and The Crow.
Perry Archangelo Bamonte was born September 3, 1960. Details about survivors were not immediately available.
